Firewhiskey
by Jen Riddle
Summary: Lily Evans hair was the same color as Firewhiskey. James Potter's hair resembled an unkempt porcupine. This is their story. A story of growing up, learning, lusting, accepting. A story of how sometimes it's too late. And sometimes, it's not. L/J, Canon.
1. Chapter 1: Chemistry

**A/N: Just a heads up before you read this story, there will be a few tid-bits of information thrown in, in later chapters, that we've learned from Pottermore. If you haven't gotten a Pottermore early-entry, and don't want to know anything about what's included, you should probably know that I will not be pointing out where there are spoilers. So you can either continue reading, and never realize that you read spoilers, or wait until it's already come out. But don't worry, It wont be until at least chapter 10, and I'm not sure if that will even be out before October. :) I'm trying to keep the story as Canon as possible, and that now includes things we're learning from Pottermore.**

**First and foremost, this is a story of growing up. It's a story of falling in and out of love, or lust. It's a story of learning what's right and what's wrong. It's a story of the scary and unforeseen future, no matter how hard we try at Divination. It's a story of acceptance, and learning to love, faults and all. **

**And, Disclaimer/Dedication: I own a lot of things, including a rambunctious two year old puppy, a massive collection of records, and this story. Unfortunately Harry Potter and the Universe surrounding him is one of the things I do not own. J.K. Rowling has those, and we all owe her a lot of love. I guess you could say this story is dedicated to her, for everything she has done for me. This is also dedicated to every boy I ever dated, my best friends, and every boy/girl they have ever dated. For without them and all of our, most time's juvenile and messed-up relationships, I wouldn't have inspiration for most of this story.**

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><p><strong>Firewhiskey<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 1: Chemicals<strong>

_We spend our summers writing songs_  
><em>Of how we'd never make it on our own<em>  
><em>But here we are.<br>_-Tigers Jaw - Chemicals

The summer changed everything. Maybe it was being seventeen, making adult decisions, being allowed to go out on her own... regardless, Lily knew, the summer changed everything. This, funny enough, was all Lily Evans could think about as she broke the heart of Mashall Bradshaw.

Marshall Bradshaw was nice enough. He had decent, pale brown eyes, a nice head of full, brown hair, a lean, toned body from Quidditch playing. His marks were good, he was certainly clever - clever enough to become Ravenclaw Prefect. He was charming, sure. Teachers loved him, girls swooned over him, blokes even respected him. He was, in all escence of the word, _perfect._

Lily Evans, however, was completely and utterly bored with him.

"It's not that I don't _like_ you, Marshall." She bit her lip awkwardly.

"You do like me, then?" Marshall asked stupidly, a pittiful look across his face.

"Yes, you're very agreeable, and all." Lily sighed. "It's just... I don't... I don't_ like_ you, like you." She sputtered the poor explanation, feeling slightly stupid as soon as it left her lips.

She had been here a hundred times. Meeting a boy, falling for said boy, growing bored of him within weeks, and then having to be the bearer of bad news. Lily Evans grew bored _far_ too easily.

"So you... you led me on, did you?" Marshall crossed his arms, his brown eyes flaring angrily.

"Of course not, Marshall... I..." She took a deep breath. This was her least favorite part of the break up process.

"You _what_?"

"I don't want to waste your time. I can't see being with you in the long run, and so I'm letting you know now before things get too... you know..." She was methodic. She knew, by this point, just what to say. Clean, precise, hurt feelings as little as possible.

"No, I don't know. We're_ seventeen_, you don't have to see yourself with me for the rest of your life." Marshall sat himself down on the edge of his seat. "I just... I don't understand you."

"Not many people do..." She paused, and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry, Marshall. You're a really fantastic bloke, and an amazing boyfriend, really. You'll find a girl someday that is as happy with you as you are with her. I'm just... not that girl."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Marshall shrugged, His eyes glancing out the window, seemingly bored by the exchange.

"I suppose that's all, then." Lily bit her lip yet again and turned to leave. As she reached the compartment door, pulling it open with a guilty hand, she turned to catch his face. He stared down at his shoes. His eyes closed. "Sorry, Marshall. Really, you're great."

"It's not me, it's you, huh?" He laughed bitterly.

"Unfortunately, it's always me." She leaned back in, kissed his cheek, and left the compartment. Once outside, she leaned against the door. _Of course, Lily Evans, it's always you._

* * *

><p>This wasn't the beginning of the story, of course. Nor was it the end. James and Lily might bicker of where it really started, but for Lily, this wasn't it. And, well, they bickered over most things. For Lily Evans, the story started over a bottle of butterbeer and a bowl of mint ice cream, a few days before the start of term. It started with words spewing from James Potters possibly over-sized mouth.<p>

"Everyone _dies_, Evans." He shrugged. Lily blinked at him, and set down her spoon. Her mint ice cream was quickly turning into a puddle of gooey green liquid in the midst of the setting summer sun.

"Well, _obviously_." She rolled her eyes simply. "I'd just rather not risk an early grave by venturing down Knockturn Alley."

"It's not so bad." spoke the raggedy headed boy next to James. Sirius Black shrugged. "My family took me there loads of times when I was a kid."

"Your family isn't exactly the best judge of character, now is it, Black?" Laughed Lily. Sirius scoffed, a fake morose look on his face.

"Look, Lily, Knockturn Alley is much closer than walking all the way back to the 'Cauldron to floo. We can skip out from that dingy pub at the end of Knockturn Alley, quick and easy." Lilys friend tried to reason with her. Her eyes locked onto Lilys, pleadingly. Lily knew full and well that Marlene wanted the excuse to spend more time with the boys across the table from them, but she certaintly did not think that awarded a trip down the dingy side-street.

"No thank you." Lily crossed her arms pointedly. She bit her lip a moment as she glanced into Marlene's pleading hazel eyes. "Alright, fine, you go down there. I'll be fine walking back to the 'Cauldron alone. Maybe I'll even do a last stop by Florish and Blotts. Go on!"

Marlene picked up her purse skeptically, her eyes not leaving Lily's.

"Really, Lily, it's not so bad... are you sure?" Marlene questioned.

"I'm sure." Lily smiled. Marlene patted her friends hand, and followed the two boys from the ice cream parlor. With a deep breath, Lily turned the other direction, towards the end of Diagon Alley.

"Alright, Evans, spill." Came a voice from behind her, moments later. Lily nearly jumped out of her shoes as she turned around to see James Potter staring down at her. He was much taller than her 5'7", and his bright hazel eyes examined her well. This was one of the first times Lily had noticed just how much he had grown since she had met him. He was no longer lanky and thin, his body and face had filled out well, though Lily wasn't one to admit it. James Potter had never been one of her favorite people in the world, Though things had grown better since their early years. They no longer fought outright as much as they jousted around their words.

"Spill _what_?" She asked, utterly flabbergasted.

"Whats wrong with Knockturn Alley?" He asked.

With James Potter towering intimidatingly over her, Lily shrugged. "Aren't our friends waiting for you?"

"Nah, told 'em to go ahead." James smiled. Lily turned back around, set to continuing her journey towards The Leaky Cauldron.

"C'mon, Evans. Whats really wrong with Knockturn Alley?" James sighed as he caught back up with her. With his long strides, it was fairly easy.

"It's just a sketchy place, Potter. You know this. Surely your pureblood parents taught you that."

"Ah." Laughed James. Lily played with the ends of her hair.

"Ah,_ what_?"

"You're scared."

"Scared, Potter?" She laughed, though it came out more nervously than she had intended it to.

"Scared. There's people down there that don't agree with you even existing."

"Hmm, thanks for that reminder." Lily growled. Her feet clacked against the cobblestones of the road, picking up pace though barely audible over James barking laugh.

"There's nothing to be scared about."

"Oh? You don't fear anything, Potter? Nothing?" She asked, turning towards him.

James paused, a smile forming on his lips. "Nothing."

"This is why you'll be dead before 22. I'll see you 80 or so years later." Lily smiled back at him. "By then, you'll have figured out every detail of Heaven, and you can show me around."

"You think I'm going to Heaven, do you?" James asked.

Lily shrugged. "You can be a prat, but I don't think you're an all-together awful person. God might have some lenience on you. If not, I'm sure your parents could buy you in."

"I'll take that as a compliment... sort of." James laughed.

"The way I see it, you've got another... how old are you? 17? You've got another 5 years, tops, to prove your a good enough person."

"What if I don't want to prove anything?" Questioned James. Lily raised her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"What if I simply do not believe in any... in any _God_? In any... _Heaven_? In anything going to punish me or reward me. What if I just believe in existing?"

"If you don't believe in punishment for your wrong-doings, why would you be a good person?" Lily asked.

"I don't need a God to tell me whats wrong and whats right, Evans. I've got a mind for that." James shrugged.

"So you're just going to go about life with no one to impress?" asked Lily.

"I don't have to impress anyone but myself, yeah? Be your own God."

"Be your own God." Laughed Lily, as if it were amusing.

"Yeah. Simple as that. Answer to yourself, live by your own Morals. I don't want to be a good person because some book told me to be a good person, I know whats right and whats wrong all on my own. You said it yourself, I'm not an all-together awful person."

"So what about Love, then?" Lily asked. She knew a lot of things about James Potter. It was inevitable when you grew up in the same Castle, the same tower, the same year as another person. She knew his bottom lip was fuller than his top, she knew his hair never sat straight, she knew the difference between his genuine laugh, and the laugh he uses when he's picking on someone, she knew he was rude to his enemy's, but kind to his friends, but one of the few things she did not know, and wasn't even quite sure why she was asking, was if James Potter believed in Love.

"What about Love, Evans?"

"Do you believe in Love?"

James paused, and examined her for a moment. "Your hair is the exact same color as Firewhiskey." He said, smiling.

Lily stared at him incrediously.

"This is your stop." He gestured to the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, where just behind the door sat the busy fireplace. Lily looked inside, towards where patrons huddled around tables, chatter filling the room as dinner rang in.

"I suppose it is." She agreed.

"See you, Whiskey." James smiled, shortly.

"See you." She replied after a moment, still contemplating what James had said, and more importantly, not said.

* * *

><p>Ever since that day, a few days before their 7th year, Lily had debated Love. As she sat in an empty compartment, moments after breaking the heart of one Marshall Bradshaw, she stared out the window, watching families hug one another, kiss cheeks and wave goodbye. Some with tears in their eyes, some barely holding them back, and some with smiles on their faces.<p>

So what was Love?

The bookworm inside of her knew it as an a strong sense of affection.

The chemist inside of her knew it as a reaction of hormones inside your body when approached with the thought or sight of something enjoyable.

For that sense, she surely loved a lot of things. Mint ice cream, for one.

But people? Was it possible to fall in love, completely, whole-"heartedly" with one other person?

Her brows furrowed as she looked at her feet. How would she ever even know if she was in love? She'd surely never been in love, so how would she know when it happened?

"Wotcher, Evans." Came a voice from the door. Lily jumped, and looked into the hazel, speckled eyes of James Potter.

"Oh. It's you." She smiled simply.

"Deep in thought, eh? I've just seen Bradshaw. What've you done to the boy?" He asked, plopping himself across from her, and throwing his feet onto her seat. She shifted, and pushed them aside.

"Don't you have your own friends to torment?" She asked.

"Remus' is feeling down, Sirius' is off with some bird, as per usual, Peter is moping over leaving his mother again." James shrugged, and pulled his feet back onto the seat.

"Funny. Not even they want to hang out with you." Lily picked a book from her shoulder bag and pulled it open.

"Don't want to talk about your relationship, then?" James asked, pulling the book from her face and examining it. "Already studying for Ancient Runes... typical."

Lily snatched the book back. "I don't want to talk about much of anything with you, Potter." She smiled simply.

"You're going to have to stop breaking hearts some day, Whiskey." He laughed. "One day you'll settle down, have a dozen and a half mini-Evan's running around, a loving husband-"

"I'm going to stop you there, Potter." She laughed. "First of all, I don't break hearts. Second of all, I do not want 18 children. Third, A loving husband? I can't even sustain a month-long relationship, let alone imagine forever with one person. It's not sensible."

James shrugged, his broad shoulders moving easily underneath his t-shirt.

"One day, Evans, one day." His eye's shifted to the hallway, where a petite brunette girl was pulling open the door to their compartment. Lily scrutinized the girl briefly, trying to figure out who she was and why she was entering their room unannounced.

"Hi." She breathed airily, her wide green eyes solidly on James. She bit her lip for a moment.

Lily looked from the girl to James, who, oddly, was smiling too, as apposed to looking affronted or trying to show off. No, instead he stood, grabbed the girls hand, pulling her towards him, and he kissed her. Not a kiss on the cheek, and certaintly not a friendly kiss.

"Hello, love." He murmured against her lips.

Lily turned away and squeezed her eyes shut. This was exactly the kind of thing she did not want to see at this moment.

"I've missed you." Lily heard the girl say. Her voice sweet and quiet.

"I've missed you too." He replied. Turning back to them, Lily coughed briefly. If she was going to be subjected to this, she might as well figure out what was going on.

"Oh!" The girl gasped, the two pairs of green eyes greeting eachother.

"This is Lily Evans!" James smiled. "Lily, this is Olive Holloway."

"Pleasure." Lily smiled, taking the girls hand as politely as she could. "Well, James." She took a deep breath. "We have a prefects meeting to attend to."

"Ah, right. Save me a seat somewhere?" He asked Olive. Olive smiled and nodded. They kissed one last time, and she skipped off down the hall.

Without saying a word, Lily stalked passed James, moving towards the front of the train.

As anyone would expect, Lily was affronted when she had heard James Potter had been made Head Boy. When Lily Evans pictured someone as Head Boy, she imagined someone strong, bold, and brilliant. For some reason, the words that came to mind when she thought of James were more along the lines of arrogant, spoiled, and ridiculous. She would have liked it much better if someone like, say, her fellow Gryffindor Prefect, Remus Lupin, had been made head, though she understood why he had not. However, why had it not been the Hufflepuff prefect, Emeric Switch, who was very kind-hearted, albeit a bit shy, or even, and though she knew it would have been a poor experience, Marshall Bradshaw, her now ex-boyfriend, who filed into the room as the thought crossed her mind.

How had she ever thought dating a fellow prefect had been a good idea? She shuddered to imagine what it would have been like if Marshall _had_ been made the Head Boy, and how awkward their working together would become.

She supposed she was just glad that Augustus Avery, the Slytherin Prefect, had not been named Head Boy. Lily had to take him with a grain of salt, and had made it a point to ignore him 90% of the time he opened his mouth.

However, over the three weeks since she had found out that Dumbledore had appointed Big-Headed James Potter as head boy, she had come to terms with it. She had grown to accept that there was nothing she could do about it, though she did write a well-worded letter on the matter that she had intended to send to the Head Master, and then, thankfully, decided against.

And to say he surprised her, would be a small worded statement.

When the meeting was finally over, Lily found it quite easy to make her way back to her friends, who she had yet to see since joining the Hogwarts Express. They were sitting near the middle of the train, and eagerly awaiting Lily's return.

"Do you know Olive Holloway?" Lily asked, as conversationally as possible after they had exchanged the typical "How was summer?" small talk.

"That Hufflepuff girl?" Piper Alderton replied, her small form curled up near the window with "Which Broomstick" tucked under her nose.

Lily shrugged.

"I think she plays seeker for Hufflepuff." She answered. "Tiny little girl, real curly brown hair? Yeah, that's her."

Lily bit her lip. Piper, chaser for the Gryffindor quidditch team, knew every player on every team in the school.

"Is she... is James Potter dating her?" Lily pressed, trying to seem completely casual.

Piper shrugged. Quidditch statistics were as much as concerned her. She turned instead to Marlene.

"Of course they're dating." Marlene McKinnon filled in, looking up from the batch of nail polish she was glazing across her fingers. "Have been since the end of term. I heard she was at his Mother's funeral and all."

If Lily had been drinking anything, she was sure it would have sprayed out of her mouth at this moment.

"Funeral?" She coughed out. The fourth girl in their compartment, Mary McDonald's pale eyes grew wide.

"You didn't hear?" She said in a low voice. Lily shook her head. "It was all over the papers. Mrs. Potter was a top Healer at St Mungo's. Pretty big blow to the staff, apparently. My Mum heard all about it, she worked under her at the hospital."

"What happened?" asked Lily.

"Apparently just old age. The Potter's are pretty old. " Marlene shrugged. "James was pretty beat up about it. And you saw him at Diagon Alley the other day... he was pretty... mellow."

Lily pursed her lips and thought back. She was right, wasn't she? While still chatty, there was no prank pulling or joking around. And James with a serious girlfriend? That didn't seem right. Not only that, but he hadn't made a pass at her a single time. Why hadn't she realized that earlier? She looked out to the sky line. Is that what it took for James Potter to act like an adult? At least his mother did not die in vein.

Lily frowned. She shouldn't be thinking like that. But she had been impressed with him at the heads meeting. Casual jokes aside, he had done quite well going over the, albeit boring, rules and regulations with the new prefects.

"Poor James." Lily answered finally. Marlene nodded.

"Olive is great though." Mary smiled. "She was very supportive through the whole thing. A true girlfriend, really."

"Well, she is a Hufflepuff, loyalty is in their blood." Marlene rolled her eyes.

"It's not just that, Marlene. She's really sweet." Mary defended. "She was in Divination with us, don't you remember?"

"I don't remember much of that class." Marlene laughed. "I think the fumes got to me. Or maybe I drank too much old tea."

"Tea doesn't spoil, Marlene, I think you were just distracted by Orsino Thurston." Lily raised her eyebrows towards her friend. Marlene shrugged, smirking slightly.

"Speaking of, where is Orsino? Weren't you apart all summer? You should be sitting with him!" Mary asked.

"He's having a band meeting, or whatever it is he and Barbary, Duke and Wagtail get into." Marlene shrugged, and sighed. "They played a few gigs this summer. Dubbed their band The Weird Sisters."

"Did you go to any of them?" Mary questioned.

Marlene shook her head, and looked towards her lap. "Well, no. Orsino seemed to think it was best if I didn't."

"You two are still together though, aren't you?" Lily quized.

"Yes, we are." Marlene nodded eagerly.

"Well why in the bloody hell didn't he want you to go to his gigs?" Chimed in Piper, who, in all normal circumstances, didn't pay attention to the relationship flaws of the rest of the group.

Marlene sighed and wrang her hands together nervously. "Well, it's nothing, really. He just... he didn't want me to tie him down, or something like that..."

"Tie him down." Repeated Lily dumbly.

"Yeah, well, you know... Girl friends don't look good for a rock band." Marlene shrugged. "It's not a big deal, really." She looked into the expressions of the rest of the girls. "Really!"

"Marlene..." Lily began.

"No! I don't want your lectures, Lily! Orsino and I are perfectly alright." She looked at the other two girls. "Seriously. We're great." She smiled.

As an on-cue change of subject, Piper pulled out her deck of Exploding Snap cards and suggested a game. Encouraging the the change from the sore topic, the other girls joined in, and, instead, spent the rest of the train ride discussing their summers.

It wasn't until after the train came to a stop outside Hogsmede station that Lily thought of James and Olive Holloway again. As Marlene was carted off by her boyfriend, and Mary and Piper joined in a heated discussion about who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher would be, she couldn't help but observe as James and Olive walked in front of her, Olive's petite hand looking out of place in his large ones, and a large smile plastered on her face as she listened to him talk and make jokes with his friends.

Although she couldn't explain it, It took the entirety of the horseless carriage ride to get them out of her head.

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><p><em>Yay, Chapter One! Please tell me what you think! Chapter two is written and will be posted next week, and in that chapter you'll be introduced to the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, who will 'Stir the Cauldron', so to say, as well as get a peek at Severus Snape. :) I've been working on this story for a very long time, so I'd really love to hear what you have to say! I didn't want to post this until absolutely everything was written, but I couldn't hold off any longer.<em>

_Please review!_

_Jen Riddle_


	2. Chapter 2: Footwork

**Firewhiskey**  
><strong>Chapter Two: Footwork <strong>

_You can paint a wall but you can't cover up the cracks _  
><em>and things will never change, until you change the way you look at it.<br>_Transit - Footwork

Lily found the first day back to school to be extremely nostalgic. As she woke up in the morning, she remembered how it would be the last time she would wake up in her Four Poster bed on the first day of school, eager for her timetable, ever again. She realized that, the night before, their welcoming feast would be the last Hogwarts welcoming feast she would ever have, the sorting hat song the last she would ever hear, and the current breakfast she sat at would be the last first breakfast at hogwarts she would ever have.

"Why is there never any bacon left by the time we get here?" Marlene moaned as she sat near the back end of the Gryffindor table. Lily took place across from her, and joined in glaring at the empty plate. Lily sighed.

"Just another thing we'll miss when we graduate." She mused.

"Mm, but when we graduate, we can have all the bacon we want, and we wont have to worry about ruddy Sirius Black hogging it all." Marlene glanced down the table towards where Sirius sat with James, Peter, and Remus, and to James' side, Olive.

"Isn't she in Hufflepuff?" Lily asked, her tone coming out more harsh than she'd intended to.

Marlene shrugged. "Couples sit together a lot. I'm not sure Dumbledore really cares."

"_You_ don't sit with _your_ boyfriend." Lily raised her eyebrows.

Marlene rolled her eyes. "I'm not lovesick."

"Olive and James are cute together." Mary cooed, as she took her place beside Lily.

"Adorable." And although Lily couldn't place it, her sarcastic tone said it all. The couple simply rubbed her the wrong way, as un-explainable as it were. She watched them as James held her hand beneath the table, and she occasionally leaned over for a kiss between bites. Maybe she was simply bitter because _they _unlike much else of the Gryffindor table, still had a healthy supply of bacon.

"Hey, Marlene, have an alright summer?" Asked one Caradoc Dearborn as he slid into the table next to Marlene, and across from Lily. Lily had met Caradoc, a member of Ravenclaw and Keeper for the house Quidditch team, a few times. He was a handsome man, standing a tall 6'2", or so, with pearly white teeth, gleaming blue eyes, and tidy brown hair. Marlene nearly jumped in surprise of the newcomer, having been halfway through a story about a dream she'd had last night, but smiled all the less.

"Yes, I did, thank you. And you?" She replied politely. He shrugged.

"It was alright. That Arithmancy work was a pain, wasn't it? I found myself wishing I had your help all summer." He grinned sheepishly. Marlene hardly fought to supress a giggle.

"It was a doozy." She agreed, taking a drink of her pumpkin juice.

"You're still continuing this year, right?" He asked in hopefull tones. She nodded.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Good." His smile grew. "I'm not sure I could make it through without you."

Marlenes cheeks filled with color.

"See you fourth period, then?" He asked, his bright blue eye's not leaving hers. She nodded excitedly.

"See you." She replied, and turned back to her breakfast, not looking up to meet the eyes of her best friends, but a small smile plastered on her face all the same.

"So... Caradoc Dearborn, hmm?" Teased Lily. Marlene didn't say a word, but struggled to whipe the smile away.

"What would Orsino say?" She pressed, still teasing.

Marlene looked up now. "There is nothing between Caradoc and I. We're just partners in Arithmancy." She shrugged.

"I'm no expert, Marlene, but I'd say you two were flirting." Piper added.

Marlene snorted.

"He know's I have a boyfriend." She added.

"I'm not sure he cares." Mary pipped in, giggling. "And he's _fit_."

"All I know, is I should have taken Arithmancy." Lily teased, as she packed up her belongings, took one last bite of toast, and headed off to her first Potions class of the year.

In previous years, Lily would have gone as far as to say Potions was her favorite subject, though occasionally put in second to Charms, depending on the ammount of homework given. That, however, was previous years.

It was not that she didn't _like_ Potions, no, she did like it, it was more the air of awkward air that surrounded the room since the end of her fifth year.

It was convenient, however, that Peter Pettigrew merely scrapped by, to the disdain of his mother, with an Acceptable in Potions, and therefor could not continue onto the N.E.W.T. potions class, and Remus Lupin was rendered partner-less at the beginning of the year. This, coupled with the fact that James Potter had practically begged Sirius Black to continue on with him, left the three Gryffindor Boys, as well as Lily, (Mary had graciously opted out of Potions, as she dreaded the entire affair, in spite of receiving the needed Exceedes Expectations - _barely_, to her words.), at an Even number of Gryffindor students and, therefor, and even number of partners.

Every day as Lily wandered into the classroom, try as she might, she couldn't help but scan the room for the sight of the greasy headed Severus Snape, who sat, as per usual, in the back of the classroom, beside Howard Mulciber - a student in which Lily was nearly positive had figured out a way to cheat in order to obtain the correct scores for the class. As far as she was aware, and as much as Severus had told her back in their time as friends, he couldn't tell a Bezoar from a Ginger Root.

Lily snorted at her own Joke as she took her seat next to Remus, who bid her an amused and confused expression.

"Don't tell me you've started the day with a cheering charm?" He asked, placing his hand on her arm. "I know the first day back is rough, but really, Lily, laughing alone-"

He smiled at his joke.

Lily rolled her eyes, and shooed him off. It wasn't long after that the newest Head Boy and his sidekick dashed into the room, barely centimeters ahead of their Professor, and crashed into the desk besides Remus, who gave them a furitive look.

"Don't let this be routine, boys!" Slughorn smiled at them, as he tapped his wand against the board. A scribble of notes about the upcoming N.E.W.T exams scrolled across it, ready to be recited to the class.

"Good to see you, class, Good to see you. I trust you've all made it back from summer in tip-top shape, ready to jump right back into the exciting world of Potions!" Reamed Slughorn, who, with a smile on his face, gazed down at his pupils eagerly. The class muttered good-mornings and hello's to their cheerful Professor.

"As you're aware, this year is, quite possibly the most important year you have yet to have at Hogwarts. Your N.E.W.T.'s, or Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test's, as they are so rightfully named, will take place at the end of the year, and will determine what you go on to do with your lives." He smiled again. "We all, your other Professors and I just hope, that as the future leaders of our nation, you remember to thank us when giving your congratulatory speeches." He joked.

"Now!" Slughorn continued, the brashness of the continuation causing his enormous belly to jiggle, "Let's not waste any more time, why don't we start with something a bit fun, for your first day back? Something I'm sure you'll all be needing a lot of by the time you approach your exams in June."

He tapped his wand against the board again, and a scrawl of instructions to create an Elixir to Induce Euphoria spread across it in white chalk.

"Whenever you're ready, you may begin."

The class set to work immediately. Remus began to light the cauldron while Lily wandered off to the storage closet to grab ingredients.

Pulling open the drawer for the Ashwinder Eggs, a arm eached across her and stole two before she could grab them. She stole a glare towards the perpatrator, only to see that it was Snape, and turned back immediately. She would not give in to his taunting. This didn't mean she couldn't help glancing from her peripherals to see that he also grabbed peppermint, an ingrediant not typically found in Euphoria Elixers. She scanned her list twice over to make sure she was not mistaken.

She grabbed her Scarab Beatles, six of them, and carried the rest of her ingredients back to the table she shared with Remus.

"We didn't need peppermint, did we?" She asked, as she crushed the beetles with the dull end of her knife, a trick Severus had shown her to make the beetles release more juice. Remus shook his head.

"Not that I'm aware of." He reread the instructions on the board. "Why?"

"Nevermind." She shook her head.

By the end of the lesson, Lily and Remus were quite satisfied by their concoction. It was precisley the exact shade of Sunshine-Yellow that they had intended for it to be, and the consistency was near enough to the slight muk that was described in the book. Beside them, James and Sirius' potion was slightly opaque, though still passable.

"Delightful! Simply delightful! Miss Evans, Mr. Lupin, you've done wonderfully! Full marks!" Slughorn grinned as he approached their table. Lily couldn't help but smile. No matter how suffocating Slughorn may be, she had to admit she liked being prided on her accomplishments. "I see they've picked a very capable Head Girl." He winked at her, and then lowered his voice. "I hope to see you at the first Slug Club meeting of the year? I've got a few surprises up my sleeve." He grinned, and Lily took the small tan scroll, tied together by a red ribbon, that he extended to her. Slughorn clapped excitedly as he scurried away to examine their neighbors potion.

"You know, you really aught to be invited." Lily shook her head as she untied the scroll with nimble fingers.

Remus chuckled. "I believe hell would freeze over before that."

"You worked just as hard as I did on this potion, and every one we made last year!" Lily protested.

"It doesn't matter, Lily. He doesn't care how good I am at Potions. You heard him, he only cares about the future leaders and whatknot. You, Head Girl, are a future leader." He grinned. Lily rolled her eyes.

"And who's to say you aren't?"

"I think his "furry-little-problem" may have something to do with that." Joined in James, as he vanished the remainder of potion in his and Sirius' cauldron.

Lily, who had known of Remus' 'Furry Little Problem' since fifth year, folded her arms. "That doesn't matter, he's an exemplary student."

"And while that doesn't matter to people like you and I, it does to old-fashioned walrus's like ole' Sluggy, and-" he nodded towards the table Slughorn was currently examining, and lowered his voice, "Future death eaters like Snape and Mulciber."

Lily didn't look towards them. She didn't have to. She heard Slughorn lecture Snape on the addition of peppermint, although a stunning observation that it would remove the side effects of Excessive Singing and Nose-Tweaking, tampering with potions ingredients was a dangerous task. He did not recieve an invitation to the Slug Club. Lily knew, however, that if it were her adding peppermint, that she would be praised and receive extra marks.

"I'd rather not go." Said Lily, stuffing the invitation deep into her pocket.

"Why?" Barked Remus. "Go! You've been to everyone since your third year, Lily-"

"They're no fun, Remus, and I'd rather not be a part of such obvious favoritism."

It was now Remus' turn to roll her eyes. "Honestly, Lily, it's not like he's out campaigning for Anti-Wearwolf legislation, I just didn't get an invitation to his club. It's good for you, you get to meet some very amazing people, don't you? I heard last year you met Bathilda Bagshot."

Lily blushed and smiled. She had been very excited to meet Bathilda, who had written every of their History of Magic texts. Although a boring subject at the school, that was mostly caused by the ghastly teacher, and hearing accounts straight from the elderly lady, over some of the most delicious pudding she had ever had, was much more exciting.

"Who would I go with, Remus?" She folded her arms and shook her head. "Piper stopped being invited since she openly insulted the owner of the Wimborne Wasps."

"Well, I've been invited." Shrugged James, as he twiddled his Slug Club invitation in his hand. "Reckon' I aught to see what the fuss is all about. I hear they've got really great food."

Lily sighed, leave it to James Potter to be more concerned with the food they'd be eating than the fact that one of his best friends was so openly discriminated against.

"We've got Defense to get to." She stated, and exited the room, the 7th year Gryffindor boys on her trail. They had all been invited to continue onto their N.E.W.T. Defense program.

Defense Against the Dark Arts, while not steady enough to be one of Lily's favorite subjects, was definitely seen, to her, as one of the most important; not only for the scores she needed to become a Healer, but for application to the curent state of the world outside of Hogwarts.

Lily marched in and took a seat beside Mary, who had just left Divination, a subject she had taken purely inspite of her parents, who were highly religious and saw any sort of 'fortune telling', as they called it, to be dark magic and thoroughly insulting to their deity. Mary, of course, and fallen in love with the subject, and refused to drop it as her parents requested. This was the cause of many spouts between the family.

Lily, who had_ thought_ she would enjoy it, had dropped it after their 5th year, finding no significance to what tealeaves at the bottom of a teacup were swished together to look like, if you turned it just a certain way, and squinted a bit too much. The subject, to her, was laughable, and she found much more comfort in facts and statistics than guess work.

Mary has since told her that she is only prejudice against the subject because it was one that, for once, she did not immediately excel at.

Nevertheless, in the spirit of plesantries, Lily asked how her first class had been.

"Marvelous!" Mary grinned, her brown hair was coming undone from the tight bun it was typically pulled into, and her cheeks were tinted pink with exasperation. "We went to the Forbidden forest in attempt to talk to the Centaurs. They're very advanced in reading stars, you know. It's different that muggle astrology, of course. Though that Rolanda Peters from Hufflepuff insulted them by asking if it were the same. We were asked to leave after that. Madame Pengrave was not pleased. I believe she took 25 points from Hufflepuff for it."

"Ouch." Lily laughed. She had learned through the years that Centaurs were very proud creatures, and understood that if the class had been granted enough to just talk to them, it was a big achievment.

Marlene filed in after that, her blonde hair cascading down her back in waves, and falling into the seat beside them with little energy.

"You know, having free period first is probably the greatest thing I've chosen in all my years of schooling. An extra hour and a half of sleep? Yes, please." Marlene grinned, pulling her book from her bag and leaning against the back of the chair with ease.

"Where's Piper?" Lily asked. "I thought she had a free period as well."

"She did, ever the overachiever, she's been at the Quidditch pitch. I'd say she's more dedicated than Potter." Marlene explained. But without further wait, Piper scrambled into the room, taking the last available seat by the girls. It was only moments after that the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class, and miliseconds later, a tall, handsome-faced man, strolled into the room, wearing dark black robes, with short, messy brown hair, and dark brown eyes that surveyed them all intimidatingly.

Lily straightened in her seat unconsciously.

"Hellooo." Marlene whispered quietly, causing Lily to suppress a giggle.

"Good morning, class." He started. The class muttered back, not enthusiastically, as they typically did.

The man, who a moment before had turned to the chalkboard, turned back and examined them all with narrowed eyes.

"That was pathetic." He sighed. "Now, as your elder and your superior, I expect more respect. Lets try again? Good morning, class."

This time, with vigor, the class replied with a simple "Good morning, Professor."

"Better. We'll work on it." The professor shook his head, turned back to the board, and tapped his wand against it twice.

"Now, I am, Walter Aragon the Third, you will refer to me as Professor Aragon, or Sir, whichever you please." His name became etched across the board automatically. "You can put your books away, we wont be needing them."

Most of the class cheered, sliding their books back into their bags. Professor Aragon's expression of strictness did not falter, and the class silenced under his glare.

"Today we will talk about the rising threat to the Wizarding world." If the class wasn't silent before, this sentence brought it to the feeling as if a dementor had just entered the room. Chills grew up Lily's arms, and the only students who seemed to grow more attent were the Slytherins.

"Can anyone tell me who that is?" She asked.

A few people raised their hands, Augustus Avery, Severus Snape, and Howard Mulciber being three of them.

"You, boy." He pointed to Avery.

"Robert Avery." He introduced. "You're speaking of You-Know-Who. The Dark Lord, right, Sir?" Avery grinned mischievously.

"Wrong, Mr. Avery. While we might touch on the rise of You-Know-Who in this class, we have more pressing matters to attend to. Anyone else?"

Not a single hand was in the air.

"I'm talking, of course, about Muggles." Professor Aragon sighed. He stood from where he was previously leaning, casually, almost handsomely against his desk, and seemed to survey each student individualy as if to guage their reactions.

"Excuse me?" Lily blurted, utterly dumbfounded.

"Excuse Me, Miss...?"

"Evans." Lily filled for him, her chin trembling.

"Miss Evans, I would appreciate it if you'd raise your hand. But please, speak your mind."

"How can you_ possibly_ claim that Muggles are a threat-"

"Miss Evans, please, if I'm giving you the respect of letting you share your opinion with the class, I'd really appreciate it if you'd give _me_, again, _your superior_, the respect of not speaking to me in such insulting tones." He raised his eyebrows. "And although I will not allow you to continue talking to me in such ways, I_ will _answer your question."

Lily felt her heart sink. She hadn't meant to insult their new Professor. Much of the class had "oooh"'ed, or laughed when Aragon had reprimanded her, as seeing Lily Evans reprimanded was not a common occurance. In fact, she was more comanly praised for her excelled scores. Lily sank into her chair.

"Muggles, Miss Evans, have been a threat to our society since our existance was clear to them. Witch hunts from the 1480's to the 1750's resulted in the deaths of nearly 100,000 humans, Magic or otherwise. Though those day's are overwith, since the Statue of Secrecy in 1692, they've been a threat to us furthermore, by dictating our freedoms." Aragon surveyed the class again. Lily couldn't help but notice the faint grins on the Slytherins faces.

"For as long as Muggles are - _seemingly_ - unaware of our existance, we will forever have to put them before us." He continued. "We will forever have to worry about what a Muggle will think, or if they'll noticed what we are doing."

Lily raised her hand again, unable to help herself. Though Aragon met her eyes, he ignored her. Lily raised her hand more prominantly.

"We're forced to hide not only our ministry, our hospital, our schools, and our sporting events, but our lively hood as well. Our freedom to be able to do what we want, where we want, will forever be ruled by them, as long as the statue of secrecy remains in place."

Lily's hand did not falter, and Crooks speech only paused when James raised his hand as well.

"Yes, Mister...?"

"James Potter." He nodded to the new Professor. "I believe Miss Evans has a question."

Aragon looked, again, at Lily, then back to James. "She has lost her right to ask questions today, by insulting my notion."

Lily felt a lump form in her throat, both by anger and shame, as she dropped her hand back to her side, unthinkingly clenching it into a fist.

It wasn't too soon when the bell rang signaling the time for Lunch. Lily was the first one out of the room, fury rising in her chest.

"I can't believe Dumbledore would hire someone like him." She fumed as she stomped away from the classroom, the rest of the Gryffindors in her wake. "He's infuriating."

"He's insane." Agreed James, shaking his head.

"I can't believe he see's muggles as a threat." Lily continued. "_A threat_!" She repeated.

"He's rather handsome though, isn't he?" Mused Marlene, catching strides with Lily. She quickly backed down when Lily glared daringly at her.

"At least he didn't give us homework." Peter shrugged.

As the lunch period began, the N.E.W.T. students weren't the only ones talking about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. It seemed the Slytherin and Hufflepuff 5th years had had Aragon during 1st period, and we're busy speading thoughts of the teacher to as many people that would listen. The Slytherins were speaking of praise, and the Hufflepuff's of disgust. It seemed the only thing the student body could agree on, was that Dumbledrore most have been getting old to overlook such an obvious personality flaw in their new Professor.

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><p><strong>Thank you all so so much for the reviews on the last chapter, as well as everyone who added the story to their alertsfavorites! I was blown away by the feedback, you guys are awesome! **

**I know this chapter was a bit slow, but it was necessary. I tried to add in more, but nothing really fit. Next chapter will heat up again, promise. :) Keep the reviews coming! You all are amazing.**

**-Jen Riddle**


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